Mangaluru : Taking exception to Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim’s order on lifting the ban on supplying water to industries from the Nethravati, Mayor Harinath said on Friday that the water supply to industries would have to be stopped if the storage level at Thumbe vented dam dipped to 7 ft and below.

Addressing presspersons at Thumbe, where water level stood at 9.7 ft on Friday against the maximum of 13 ft, the Mayor admitted that the water supply to Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers Ltd (MCF) had resumed from the Thumbe dam.

The Mayor said that when the Deputy Commissioner permitted resuming lifting water from AMR Power Pvt. Ltd. dam at Shambhoor for for MRPL and SEZ Ltd. how could the corporation stop water to MCF Ltd. from Thumbe. “But if the inflow comes down and the storage level at Thumbe dips to 7 ft, even lifting from Shamboor dam will have to be stopped,” he said.

Mr. Harinath thanked the team of engineers led by K.S. Linge Gowda, Executive Engineer, for striving hard for ensuring water supply to wards during the time of crisis as the level at Thumbe was dipped up to 3.5 ft. He said that the corporation had pressed into service 65 vehicles, including water tankers, for supplying water to wards.

Now except two tankers all others had been withdrawn from service as daily water supply in the city had been restored.

The Mayor said that the corporation was in the process of taking forward a legal process to ensure continuous access to the pristine water of the Lakya dam of KIOCL Ltd at Kudremukh. The matter would be pursued in the Supreme Court as the corporation had appointed an advocate for the purpose.

All efforts would be made to convince the court to allow the corporation to draw at least five MGD water from the Lakya dam, he said.